Why I Cheer for the Boston Red Sox

I spent 23 of my life in Minnesota. During that time, the Twins won two world series in 1987 and 1991. I enjoyed it. But I only went to a few games at the Metrodome. I just never got into baseball the way I did football and basketball in Minnesota.

Fast forward to 2001 and in my first month living here in the Bay Area, we went to a San Francisco Giants game at Pac Bell park. You see, Pac Bell Park is right on the water and is a true, outdoor dedicated baseball stadium. It's just beautiful. You get a feeling not unlike when you were a kid and you sat on the Bleachers right next to the chain link fence at the local park - watching your friends play or waiting to get a pickup game of Home Run Derby. Something very calming and perfect about watching Baseball that way - outdoors with the sun on your back.

The metrodome was a whole nother world entirely. I felt like somebody opened up the Basement of the junior high and decided to put 60,000 seats in and play baseball there and glorified green carpet with piles of sand they called dirt. Nothing very interesting watchinb baseball that way.

I guess that's partly why I root for the Giants now. I love them. I love Barry Bonds. I can't wait to go see more games at Pac Bell park. They've become my number one team I root for, followed by the Red Sox, followed by the Twins.

But why in the world do I care so much about the Red Sox?

I mean, I can't really pledge any sort of allegiance to them. I really only "lived" there for one month in Brookline when I did a rotation out at Beth Israel.

Well, it would be easy for me to say that the Red Sox represent the underdog, but its more than that. I think the fact that they haven't won a World Series since 1918 makes them an underdog, but if it was just being an underdog, I should root for all the other teams too, right?

I myself have been trying to figure out why I'm so drawn to the Red Sox nation. But I couldn't put my finger on it, until today.

I came across this posting on the Sons of Sam Horn forum. In it, the first poster tells the Boston Red Sox to "win it for...." He then lists various people and reasons for whom and for what the Red Sox should win the World Series for.

His last person/reason was the most touching -

"Most of all, win it for James Lawrence Kelly, 1913-1986. This one's for you, Daddy. You always told me that loyalty and perseverance go hand in hand. Thanks for sharing the best part of you with me."

This is it. This is why I root for the Red Sox so much. Its that I not only cheer for the team, but I cheer for the collective fan base that is the Red Sox Nation. Its not only that they have such a passion for a team that has continually had bad luck on their side, but its that they perservere in their passion about a team. Its that as a city, they rally around a team and are not afraid to allow the Red Sox to become a part of Boston's identity and, more importantly, their psyche. While some may find it shallow, superficial, whatever... these fans measure a part of their life with the Red Sox - not coffee spoons. The memorable Red Sox moments identify not only an historic sports event, but also a brief moment in which a friend, a family member, or even a stranger can relate. It takes cheering to a whole new level, and there is nothing superficial about it at all.

Sports has a way of doing this - uniting people to root for a group of individuals who achieve great things in the face of difficult competition and sometimes unwavering setbacks. Boston fans, it seems, exemplify the way every city should root for their home team.

I'm just incredibly happy for them right now, and happy for the team itself. No offense to the fans of other teams, but the Red Sox fans are truly some of the best in the world.